QUESTION

A woman would like to stop being a vegetarian after many years.

A. Does she need to do hatarat nedarim (annulment of vows), since being vegetarian may be considered a ma’alah (spiritual or religiously positive practice)?

B. If so, can she do the hatarat nedarim before three women?

ANSWER

Yes, I think she should do hatarat nedarim.

Being vegetarian is certainly a hanhagah tovah (positive religious practice). The Shulchan Arukh rules that when a person accepts a permitted practice as prohibited, or adopts a positive practice and repeats it three times, it can take on the status of a neder and require hatarah before being